[Funding roundup] Classplus, mCaffeine, GOQii net growth capital; Digimaze, FlexC, others raise early rounds

Edtech startup Classplus raises $70 million in Series D round from Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global

This new round of growth capital, which values Classplus at $600 million, follows the startup's $65 million Series C round eight months ago in June 2021.

As part of the round, Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures has come in as a new investor while existing investor, RTP Global, has doubled down on their investment in the NCR-headquartered company.

Founded in 2018 by Mukul Rustagi and Bhaswat Agarwal, Classplus is a mobile-first SaaS platform that allows educators and content creators to build their online presence, digitise their offline tuition centres and sell their courses online.

GEF Capital raises nearly $200 million for its climate-focused SAGF II Fund

GEF Capital Partners (GEF), a global sustainability Private Equity (PE) investor with an emphasis on climate investing, raised funding from marquee investors such as CDC Group of UK, European Investment Bank, Dutch investment firm FMO, Proparco, Swedfund, BIO, International Finance Corporation (IFC) — the private investment arm of the World Bank, and the US Development Finance Corporation.

Founded in 2018, GEF Capital Partners is a global private equity firm formed following a collaborative spinout from Global Environment Fund, a pioneer in global sustainability and environmental investing. Today, GEF seeks to focus on investments that promote resource efficiency and contribute to building a more sustainable future.

SAGF II is a growth equity fund targeting climate-themed businesses in South Asia with a focus on India.

GOQii raises $10 million in extended Series C equity round

The Healthtech firm said it will collaborate with Animoca Brands and its ecosystem companies and projects to develop various offerings that leverage blockchain tokens and gamification in preventive healthcare.

Earlier, the company had raised $50 million in Series C investment, and investors including Sumeru Ventures, Modality (Digality), 9 Unicorns, and Venture Catalysts participated in the round. The company's metaverse ecosystem will be based on a virtual token programme

mCaffeine parent raises $31.5 million led by Paragon Partners

Pep Technologies Pvt Ltd, the parent of Mumbai-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) personal care brand mCaffeine, said the round also saw participation from Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, Harsh Mariwala-backed Sharrp Ventures, and returning investors, Amicus Capital Partners and RPSG Capital Ventures.

ALSO READ

mCaffeine eyes Rs 700Cr revenue by FY24, to ramp up hiring

Pep Technologies has been valued at Rs 1,000 crore (nearly $131.4 million) as part of the round. The company had previously raised Rs 42 crore in a Series B round of funding from Amicus Capital, RPSG Ventures, Telama Investments, and Aman Gupta — Co-founder of consumer electronics brand boAt, in September 2020. With the current round, mCaffeine has raised a total of $40 million since its inception.

The fresh capital will allow the company to expand across 12 countries, it said in a statement. Going ahead, the company plans to acquire smaller brands in the beauty vertical across Indian and global markets, taking a house-of-brands approach, the statement said.

AI talent marketplace FlexC raises $1 million from Fynehand in a pre-series funding round

FlexC says it will use the funds to accelerate its business, expand its agency network, as well as add new industry verticals.

FlexC helps organisations hire and manage their hybrid workforce - essentially like an Uber for recruitments. It has 150 clients, currently, and 25,000 professionals on its network.

Siddharth Raisurana, founder and managing director of Fynehand joins FlexC's board as part of the deal, the startup, founded in 2020, said in a press release.

Adtech platform Digimaze raises $700K in seed funding

The funding round was led by Gautam Daftary - a member of the founding family of Bharat Serums and Vaccines which was acquired by global private equity major Advent International in 2019, with participation from 10 high-net-worth (HNI) families.

Founded in 2019 by Vatsal Rajgor and Poojan Ajani, Digimaze says it will use the investment to strengthen its content and data "with efficient use of technology".

ALSO READ

How adtech is setting a benchmark for future generation

"We plan to enable a larger number of brands to spruce their growth trajectory with efficient utilisation of performance marketing and ad tech to reach the right set of audiences," Vatsal said in a press release.

Anti-money laundering startup IntelleWings raises $650K in a pre-series A round from Dallas Venture Capital

The round also saw existing investors like SucSEED Indovation Fund, Padup Ventures and Vinners, participate, and onboarded new investors such as Lead Angels and Nextgen Technology Fund I to the cap table.

IntelleWings uses machine learning and algorithmic filtering to reduce corruption and terror funding, especially in the financial sector. It counts one of the largest private-sector banks its India, as well as 10 other designated non-financial businesses and professions in the Middle East as its clients.

"The product is built on deep domain and technology expertise, and the capital raised in this round will help us in business development, hiring senior leadership and expansion into new markets including the US," said Pramod Sharma, founder and CEO of IntelleWings.

Two-wheeler servicing platform GarageWorks raises $1 million in pre-series A

Investors in the round included Hiten Shah, Gowri Narayanan, Ram Trichur, Fred Towfigh, and Abhijeet Kumar and Munendra Singh (ex-founders of BB Daily). Existing investors also participated in the round, GarageWorks said.

The startup said it will use the funds to expand its geographical footprint, improve its tech, and recruit new talent.

GarageWorks is a B2C startup that provides two-wheeler vehicle servicing at people's doorsteps or in their parking lots. Along with emergency repair services, it also offers period maintenance and inspection.

ALSO READ

Blood, sweat, and tears: what it takes to build a bootstrapped startup

"Post-Covid ecosystem rules and consumer preferences have seen a tectonic shift towards digital engagement, soaring quality, and convenience demands. This is visible from the 10x increase in our website visits and a 4x increase in our volumes," said Shishir Gandhi, co-founder of GarageWorks.

"With this successful fundraise, we aim to secure a foothold in the top 10-12 cities and make doorstep services a primary choice for our customers to manage their two-wheelers," he added.